A Canadian veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and an injury incurred during service was offered assisted suicide when consulting a hotline for struggling ex-soldiers.
In a worrying but “not surprising” development in Canada, a troubled veteran was offered assisted suicide during an exchange with the Veteran Affairs Canada hotline, leaving the soldier feeling “deeply disturbed” and his family “disgusted” by the encounter.
The Canadian Government has since launched a “full and thorough” investigation into the exchange in July that reportedly left the veteran feeling “betrayed”.
Assisted Suicide, known in Canada as medical assistance in dying (MAiD), is increasingly widespread in the nation. This month, SPUC reported that over 10,000 Canadians were killed by assisted suicide in 2021 alone, yet another dramatic increase.
Adults in Canada are supposedly only eligible for assisted suicide if they have a “grievous and irremediable medical condition”, conditioned by an incurable illness, disease or disability that is determined to cause intolerable physical or psychological suffering that cannot be relieved.
Nevertheless, in June, SPUC covered the story of a disabled Canadian woman conditionally granted assisted suicide after being unable to fund appropriate accommodation because of self-stated “abject poverty”.
SPUC comment
A SPUC spokesperson said: “As disgusting and as shocking as this story is, it is not surprising, especially given that Canada is increasingly turning to assisted suicide as a default response to suffering – and now, even PTSD – a shocking situation that stands as a warning to the UK, which is currently considering similar legislation.
“When a soldier who has experienced violence and likely seen terrible things in service of his nation is casually offered death as a solution to his suffering, society must surely wake up and recognise assisted suicide for what it really is: a dangerous, heartless and fundamentally inhuman imposition that absolutely must be opposed in any society that aspires to be civilised.”
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